Conventional hairbrushes include a plurality of tufts. Each tuft consists of a plurality of bristles, and the bristles are secured together at one end thereof to form the tuft. As a result, the bristles of each tuft diverge outwardly relative to one another from their secured ends. The spaced free ends of the bristles can pass freely through the hair; however, the bristles converge toward one another at their secured ends, and this causes pinching and pulling out of the hair. Molded pin-type brushes are also known, but in such brushes the bristles are tapered and spaced a relatively great distance from one another, so as to be inefficient in terms of gathering and aligning of hair.
Over the years, attempts have been made to provide a bristle brush which is compact and does not expose the brush bristles during storage. One brush of this type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,427,559 in which the brush bristles are mounted on a movable back which can be displaced into the protective casing so that, in the closed position, the bristles of the brush are not exposed. Brushes of this type are desirable since the retraction of the bristles into the casing provides a compact brush, and the bristles are not exposed to damage fabrics and like materials with which the bristles come into contact. Other retractable bristle devices are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,065,757, 3,148,685, 3,765,049 and a host of other patents.
One of the difficulties of brushes of the type described in the above-identified patents stem from the fact that the bristles entrap dirt, dust, hair and other foreign material, which is drawn into the casing by entrapment with the bristle tufts. After use, the brush becomes laden with such foreign material which is difficult to remove.
It would be desirable to provide a brush that does not suffer from the above-described disadvantages and that obviates the above-described problems.